Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2007-08: Calvin Pickard played for the Winnipeg Wild Midget AAA club, registering a 1.91 goals-against average in 40 games. Calvin’s older brother, Chet, was a first round selection of the Nashville Predators at the 2008 NHL Draft.

2008-09: In his WHL rookie season, Pickard played in 47 games for the Seattle Thunderbirds. He posted a 3.05 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage. He finished with a 23-16-1-4 record. In 5 playoff games, Pickard had a 3.03 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage for the Thunderbirds. Earned a gold medal at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Under-18 Tournament while playing for Team Canada.

2009-10: In 62 games for the Thunderbirds, Pickard registered a 3.09 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. His record for the season was 16-34-7-5. Pickard played for the victorious Team Cherry squad at the 2010 CHL Top Prospects Game.

2010-11: Pickard skated in 68 games for Seattle and was named to the WHL West Second All-Star team despite skating for a last-place team. Pickard finished with a 27-41 record with eight of those losses in overtime and had one shutout. He finished with a 3.36 GAA and .916 save percentage.

2011-12: Pickard made his pro debut in a pair of games for Colorado’s AHL affiliate Lake Erie following his fourth season with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. He made a third period relief appearance replacing Monsters’ starter Cedrick Desjardins on March 31st in a 4-0 loss to Texas and started the next night against the Stars, making 25 saves in an 8-4 win. Pickard was a workhorse for an overmatched Thunderbirds team in Seattle. He played in 64 of 72 games and was 25-39 with 2 losses coming in overtime. On a Seattle team that missed the playoffs after finishing last in the U.S. Division, he had 5 shutouts with a 3.59 goals against and .906 save percentage.

2012-13: Pickard assumed the starting role for Colorado AHL affiliate Lake Erie in his first pro season. In a bit of an up-and-down season he appeared in 47 games and was 20-19-5 with 5 shutouts and had a 2.47 goals against and .918 save percentage. Lake Erie finished third in the North Division but missed the AHL playoffs.

2013-14: Pickard played 43 games for Colorado AHL affiliate Lake Erie — splitting the goaltending duties with Sami Aittokallio. He was 16-18-7 with two shutouts and had a 2.85 goals against and .906 save percentage. The Monsters missed the AHL playoffs; finishing fourth in the North Division.

2014-15: Pickard made his NHL debut in October — appearing in two games with the Avalanche — and played in 16 games for Colorado while playing a career-high 50 games for the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters in his third pro season. He was 6-7-3 with a 2.35 goals against and .932 save percentage for the Avalanche. Pickard was 23-17-3 with three shutouts and had a 2.61 goals against and .917 save percentage for the Monsters. Lake Erie finished fourth in the Midwest Division, missing the AHL playoffs.

Talent Analysis

Pickard is a technically-sound netminder. He uses his confidence and good goalie instincts to play a simple but smart game. He has shown in the past he is more than capable of being relied upon as a workhorse goalie.

Future

Pickard continues to be the goalie-in-waiting in the Colorado system as Semyon Varlamov has handled the bulk of the starts for the Avalanche. Re-signed to a one-year contract as a restricted free agent in August, 2015, he has shuttled between the Avalanche and new AHL affiliate San Antonio in 2015-16. Pickard is close to being ready for regular NHL duty and had his first career NHL shutout in a game against New Jersey on January 14th. He has the ability to help steal games and make big saves to keep his team in the game. With veteran Reto Berra expected to return from an ankle injury soon Pickard could once again be returned to the AHL but he has shown that he is capable of playing at the NHL level.

Photo: The Colorado Avalanche’s top prospect, Mikko Rantanen, has shown elite pro ability in two leagues now and might be key to helping the Avalanche into a playoff berth (courtesy of Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

The Colorado Avalanche’s top five prospects are as good as any other team’s in the league but after fifth-ranked Nicolas Meloche the level of talent begins to wane and big question marks appear. The front office targeted defense as a weakness a few years ago, putting emphasis on improving that area at the expense of the forward group. The lack of success in the mid- to late-rounds has not helped the team’s situation.

Photo: After half a season of pro hockey, Colorado 2013 second-round pick and former Owen Sound star Chris Bigras has advanced to NHL duties (courtesy of John Rivera/Icon Sportswire)

The San Antonio Rampage did not lose in regulation until November 7th against their rival, the Texas Stars. The month-long hot streak included six regulation wins and four overtime losses. They continued to rack up wins and stay atop the Pacific Division until December when they proceeded to lose seven in a row and a staggering 15 losses in 20 games. Colorado Avalanche General Manager Joe Sakic has emphasized the need to establish a winning culture in their minor league system but knows such changes cannot be accomplished overnight.

Photo: San Antonio Rampage forward and Colorado Avalanche prospect Andrew Agozzino (#28) is off to a good start offensively in 2015-16 with 16 points in nine AHL games (courtesy of Christina Shapiro/Texas Stars)

The Pacific Division was always going to be the American Hockey League’s most polarizing division.

With five teams playing 68 games and the other two playing 76, points percentage was handmade for this grouping. And with the California teams avoiding all of the dreaded three-in-threes? The Pacific Division is ripe with storylines created by the AHL’s western migration. Read more»

Photo: San Antonio Rampage goaltender and Colorado Avalanche prospect Calvin Pickard turned in a strong showing in NHL action in 2014-15, but will begin the 2015-16 season in the AHL (courtesy of Christina Shapiro/Texas Stars)

When Calvin Pickard was a 9-year-old in Winnipeg he made one of the most important decisions of his life — he wanted to be a goalie.

Pickard had first been “thrown into” the net when he was eight. And he played “pretty well” in goal, but still split time between forward and goalie until that all-important decision. Read more»

Photo: Top Colorado Avalanche prospect Mikko Rantanen has over 100 professional games on his resume already (courtesy of Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Defense wins championships and that is what Patrick Roy returned to Denver to accomplish. Despite his team taking a step back in his sophomore season behind an NHL bench, Roy is confident the lessons learned will only help the team going forward. In addition to his role as head coach, Roy holds a second title as Vice President of Hockey Operations, giving him a voice in all player personnel decisions. The new philosophy as to how the team will be constructed both now and in the future is trending towards an emphasis on size, character, and skills. Roy has also shown he is open to drafting and signing free agents from Europe’s top leagues, something that occurred less frequently in the years prior to his return.